Monday, August 26, 2013

This letter was written for the Write Tribe Wednesday writing prompt that asked that we compose a letter to a stranger that I judged with my first impression and in the end made a lasting impression.

To the Man on Dialysis,

When I first
saw you at the kidney center when I was 24 I was put off by your
appearance. I was there with my mom who had to undergo kidney dialysis three times a week to live, much as you did. I didn’t know you. You were a stranger to me and your appearance scared me at first. The medics would
wheel you in, hook you to the machine and you would lay there looking half dead
for the entire time. People said you
were from a nursing home and were almost blind.
Diabetes had robbed you of your sight, your right leg, and functional
kidneys. In my young mind, I chalked you
up as someone that didn’t have much of a life and that considering your
condition couldn’t have ever had one. I
dismissed you immediately thinking you had nothing interesting to share.

As time went on,
I became more comfortable and familiar with all the patients. I was bored waiting the 4 long hours until my
mom was done with the machine and because of that I began making my rounds
getting to know the patients. At the
time I was a graphic design student in college nearing the end and preparing
for portfolio. I cannot tell you how
thankful I was the day I finally sat down at your side and struck up a
conversation. That was the day my
opinion of you changed. I discovered how
you had come to be on kidney dialysis and to my shock you had been quite
the successful cartographer. In laymen’s
terms you drew maps. Even more cool, you
had actually drawn the maps used for the 1988 Calgary Olympic Winter games.

One day you
relayed the story of how your sister had met Eddie Murphy in Las Vegas. Your sister had been vacationing there and
one day went to get on the elevator. She
found herself surrounded by a group of tall black men. The door closed and you told how your sister
nervously wished she had waited for the next elevator.

All of
a sudden the doors closed and a man behind her told her to hit the floor. Your sister, having her imagination run away
from her, immediately fell to the floor with her hands in the air sure she was
soon to be robbed. The elevator filled
with laughter and she quickly made her exit.
Later when she went to check out of the hotel she discovered her bill
had been paid in full. The clerk gave
her a letter that said “I have never laughed so hard in all my life! Thank you for making my day. I thought stuff like that only happened in
the movies! I hope the rest of your stay
was enjoyable.” The letter was signed by
Eddie Murphy.

I learned that
first impressions can be misleading. You simply
can’t judge a person by their appearance.
Just because they look a certain way doesn’t mean that they have nothing
to share, aren’t fun, or their life didn’t touch others. That man touched my life. He changed me for the better. I learned not to judge others. I learned first impressions weren’t
everything. I learned everyone is
special and has something worthwhile to give to this world. Everyone deserves kindness, compassion, and
to have a friend. Everyone deserves a chance. Once my mom died, I never saw you again. I want you to know how blessed I am to have
known you. I am so glad we met and for the lessons you taught me.

This is in response to the Writer's Post Blog Hop hosted this week by Cat Graham at"Cattitude and Gratitude". Growing up
the telephonewas the only way we had to keep in contact with my Dad when he
was on the road. He was an over the road
truck driver most of his life. Back in
those days they didn’t have cell phones and when they finally invented them
they were so bulky and expensive that most folks like my parents couldn’t
afford them.

Because of that my Dad was forced to
use payphones to call home, his dispatcher, and brokers. My Dad would call home every Sunday and
Wednesday night like clockwork, no ifs or maybes about it. He would
share where he was and where he had been, ask how school was going for me, and
end the call with an “I love you, be good!” To be perfectly honest, those destinations and places went in one ear and out the other. I never remembered where he said he was or where he was going. After a while my parents invested in a toll free phone number for the
house and finally a pager to make communication a little easier.

Things have sure changed since those
early years with cell phones being inexpensive and readily available. At this point, we no longer have a land line,
just a cell phone. That cell phone is my
life line. It allows me almost constant
access to my husband at any hour of the day or night. We talk, we text, and send each other
pictures. My son, daughter, and I talk
to their Dad every night. It makes the
time apart bearable. It keeps us
connected. I never have to wonder if he will call, only when. My husband is the only other man besides my Dad that I could always count on to call me hell or high water. Once again, no maybes about it. It is not the same as being
together, but it is the next best thing and a far sight better than only
talking twice a week. Thank heavens for
technological advances that continue to bring everyone in the world a bit
closer.

It is time for Tuesday Tunes and today I am
highlighting a selection of songs that are polar opposites from each other in
sound and attitude.

The first song on
the agenda is “Clarity” performed byZedd featuring Foxes.I love the driving force behind this song and
the message behind the lyrics.It
describes a love that is pure insanity and a tad bit dangerous…but vital.The kind of love that is discussed in the song
is laced with passion and may not provide the healthiest of relationships due
to the fact it is based on pure lust and little else.It is like a drug.Once tasted and experienced, you simply have
got to have more and more. The song is
addicting, and the more I listen to it, the more I love it.Even the art direction of the video is
mesmerizing and goes hand and hand to promote this song in superb fashion.It talks of a love so blinding and a passion
so enormous one forgets common sense.In
my opinion it is pure brilliance and there is little wonder why it is taking
the world by storm holding steady at number 8 on Billboard’s hot 100
charts.You can relate to it.It is the stuff of fantasies.

The next song I am highlighting is
performed by none other than Blake Shelton.
Today this song makes me smile.
It contains attitude and I love it.
It is the kind of song you sing along with and celebrate. I actually thought of highlighting another of
Blake’s songs today…but since I am struggling to adjust to the new regime of
waking up at 5:30 in the morning to
insure my kids are on the bus when it rolls past, it certainly reflects the
current mood. I am obviously sleep
deprived and half past give a shit so it only seems fitting that I should
include “Kiss My Country Ass” in today’s lineup.
This song insists I sing along and even let out a rebel yell at key
points. It is a party song, plain and
simple and I love it.

My last selection today is performed byMaroon 5 titled “Love Somebody”. I
love the lyrics and beat of this song. It
encompasses the desire to love and be loved.
Once you have loved, you are never the same again. It is a happy, feel good kind of song and
that is probably what I like about it most.
Two thumbs up on the art direction for the video. It is spectacular, symbolic, and spot
on. How ironic that I started this post
with love, spiraled into a celebratory kissing of my country ass, and ended up
wanting to love somebody in the end just as frantically as I did at the
first. It can only happen on Tuesday,
and perhaps that is why I love my Tuesday tunes so much!

Thursday, August 15, 2013

Freedom of expression touches anyone who creates…whether their creations are artistic and visual, written and sensory, or expressed with the beat and swells of music. Without it the world would be deprived of the best work of the most creative and gifted minds whether they are artists, writers, or musicians. In my mind, the world we know would cease to exist and become a dark place indeed. After all every single person has an opinion whether they give voice to it or not. All people are unique and have different tastes. Still without the freedom of expression no one would ever truly know the innermost nuances of those around them. The creativity of the world would be effectively squelched.

When I blog I give voice to my innermost ideas and thoughts. My ideas are given life as they flow through my fingers as they caress and pound my keyboard often to the spiritually uplifting beat of my favorite music. I often write with little censure simply letting my words flow through me directly to the keyboard. In this vehicle, I feel my voice is heard, my feelings expressed, and my story told. It is a liberating feeling and there is nothing that can compare to it. I think that is why I write. I need that outlet. I need to express myself. Without that creative outlet, I wouldn’t be me.

I have been a creative soul my whole life expressing myself through my art first, playing piano and feeling the expression of the great composers as my fingers moved over the keys my emotions swelling and falling with the music next, and finally through the written word here on my blog. I didn’t wake up one day dreaming to write. I always dreamed of being an artist. I took the path life led me on, and to my surprise I ended up writing instead and satisfying that creative itch that burns inside me here. Here I am free to finally be me, with no holds barred and there is no greater gift to possess than that.

It is little wonder that so many fight for the freedom of expression without censure and to do as they please and see fit in their daily lives. How sad it would be to be rigidly oppressed and unable to soar, dream, and live following the path God intends for us as unique individuals with something vital to share with the world. That is why freedom of expression is so vital. That is why we celebrate it with so much passion.

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

This week's Writer's Post Blog Hop is hosted by Darla at "Blessed Little Creatures". This post was written in response to her prompt. When I was a teenager I visited the
Hermitage plantation in Nashville, Tennessee with my mom and was blown away by
the pure history that surrounded me. If
you listened carefully you could almost hear the whispers of the occupants that
once lived there. It was mind boggling
to realize a hundred years or so before folks were going about their business
in that exact spot. History was being
made. Andrew Jackson himself walked those same paths. He slept in that room and dined at that
table. I wonder if in a hundred years or so down the road if people will wonder about me and what made me tick, where I
slept, what I ate, and how I felt about things.

Even though we were only minutes away from
the bustling metropolis of Nashville, there in that place time had been frozen
as it once was when Andrew Jacksonhad lived.
The slave cabins were intact and even more fascinating…quite a distant
from the house stood the outhouse. It kind of blew my mind at the time because of the way it
was constructed and where. Not only was it quite a jaunt
from the main house, it accommodated three people with three holes. Seriously it was an outhouse built for three.
Not only that, there was absolutely no privacy. My crazy animated mind quickly conjured
up these people of the past sitting side by side taking a crap…together.

Boy, have we come a long way from those days
without indoor toilets with doors and economy sized cans of Febreeze! What I find even more
astonishing is that I know, I just know those folks must have woke in the night
and had to go. That was a hell of a long way to run. I guess folks just did their business in
a china commode right in their room in those days and inhaled the fumes for the rest of the night.
Or I imagine when they were done, they threw it out the window. Watch out
below for flying turds! Maybe that is where the old story my dad used to tell of a man getting killed by a flying turd came from. I wonder! Boy, am I glad I live now in the land of indoor toilets, running water, and ventilation!!

I eagerly anticipated history class in high school
and thoroughly enjoyed it.
I think it is important to learn history because it is only through
learning what happened in the past that we can truly understand and grasp the
present and the future. Like those that came before us, we live, we learn, and
proceed forward with that knowledge.

This morning started way too early when the alarm sounded at 5:30 am. I can't believe the summer is over and it is time for back to school. As if the summer is giving up the ghost, the swimming pool overflowed during last nights storm and effectively emptied by this morning! With morning temperatures in the upper 40's I pulled the plug on the pool's pump effectively saying goodbye to summer. Even the pool doesn't want to deal with those kind of temperatures in August!!

Loaded down with notebooks, pencils, and gym shoes...off to 7th grade and a new adventure in junior high!

Off to second grade! Thankfully that backpack will be loads lighter on the return trip!